Friction-clutch mechanism



W. L. PIERCE. FRICTION CLUTCH MECHANISM. APrLlc/Tlou FILED Ara. l2, 1911.- 1,420,214.

Peeeneea Junez xemm e;

l pear more. fully hereinafter'.

saai* or New YORK, N. Y.

FRICTION-CLUTCH MECHANISIVL.

4 Application led April 12,

To all Lo/10m t may concern.'

Be it known that I, lNiLLiAM L. Pinnen, a citizen of the United States, residing at N ew York, in the county and State of New York, have made a certain new and useful Invention in Friction-Clutch Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to friction clutch mechanism, for use in any connectionwhere a clutch between a moving shaft and a sta tionary shaft. to impart the motion of the` one to the other at will, is required.

The object of the invention is to lpro-- vide a friction clutch, which is simple 4in structure, efficient in operation and economical in manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a yielding connection in a friction clutch. l

A further object of the invention is to provide a friction clutch wherein the friction material employed is not subjected to enormous heat incident thereto, due to the wide diversity between the rotating and stationary members thereof.

Further objects of the invention will ap- The invention consists substantially in the construction, combination, location and .relative arrangement of parts, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth, asshown by the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing Fig. l is a view in side elevation, parti all)7 in section, of a friction clutch embodying my invention. i

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2, 2, in Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows. l

Fig. 3 'is a sectional view taken on the line 3, S, Fig, l looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic-view, showing the brake employed in connectioirwitl'i my invention. y,

Fig. 5 is a detached view partially in .section, showing the relation between the brake and the control lever.

The same part is designated by the same reference numeral wherever it occurs throughout the several views.

In friction clutch devices, to impart at Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 20, 1922. 1917. seriai Noyieifisa will, rotary movement to a member or mem- .iers, from a continually rotating member, great difficulty has heretofore been encountered, duejto the fact that the continually rotating inembenrotating at great speed, burns out the friction material when the stationary member is forced' in contact therewith. This is obvious when it is considered that the difference in speed between the two members is great. The heat created by the frictional contact between the stationmember, andthe rapidly rotating moving member, quickly wears down the frictional material used in clutches of-this nature, and burns it out, thereby necessitating ,frequent inspection and .replacement of the friction material employed.'

It is amongthe special purposes of my present invention rto provide a friction clutch, which may be used in any instancev where a friction clutch is desired or is einployed, and wherein a yielding initial connection is made between the stationary and the rotating member. In accordance with my invention neither of the members above referred to ai'e connected directly to the rotating shaft. The rotating member is con;

nected to the rotating shaft by a coiled spring mounted on the shaft, and is rotated by the shaft thereby, so that when the staf tionary member is placed infrictional contact with the rotating member, the shock or strain imposed upon the frictional surface due to the great difference in speed` between tlie two members isv absorbed and taken up by the coiled spring.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawing, 1 desingnates the shaft which may be rotated from any desiredsource in any suitable manner; and inthis instance,.referring'to the sectional views, Figs. 2 and, is rotated counter clockf wise; the shaft is operated in suitable bearings 2 at its respective .ends and of which bearings one is shown. Mounted on the shaft, and secured thereto, to rotate therewith, lfor example, by set screw 3, is a collar 4.

v lioosely mounted on the shaft l is a rotating member 5 which forms a portion of the friction clutch. A coiled spring 6 is secured at one end to the collar 4f and at the other end toY the rotatin member 5, which coiled spring is slightly arger in internal diameter than the external diameter' of the shaft l, as

clearly shown in Fig. 1. mounted on the shalt 1, limits the outward movement of the rotating member 5, due to the tension ot' the spring 6. The other section ot the fric-tion clutch, which is designated at 8, is loosely mounted on the shaft 1, and is provided with an extended hub sleeve 9. Mounted on the hub sleeve 9 ol the member 8 and suitably secured thereto, Vto rotate therewith, is a member 10, which member will hereinalter be referrer to as the attached member. Secured to the end ol the hub sleeve 9 is a ball-bearing collar 11. il second ball-bearing collar 12 is loosely mounted on the shalt 1, as shown, and positioned between the two ball-bearing collars 11 and 12, and loosely carried by the shalt 1 is a collar, or a collar member, 13 et coinparatively larger internal diameter than tbc external diameter ot' the shaft 1, the end ci which collar is bent to `lform an arm 1K1, '.tor the control ol the clutch, as will be more fully hereinafter described.

To enhance the frictional contact between the rotating` member 5 and the member 8, a suitable trictional material, such as leather or the like, vand indicated at 15, maj.y be located on one of these members. l have shown this friction piece in the torni of a circular ring, carried by the member 8, but it will be understood that my invention, in its broad scope, as defined in the claims, is not to be limited or restricted to the shape, size or location or use ol the additional friction strip shown.

It will be seen that when the collar 11 is forced to the right in the drawing, member 8 will be forced into contact with the rotating member 5, which is being rota ted at the saine.

speed et rotation as the shaft 1, through the spring 6. The engagement oit the member 8 with the member 5, however, causes the member 5 to slacken in speed of rotation against the action of the spring 8, which, due to its larger size, winds tightly around the shaft 1 until its limit is reached, before the speed oit rotation of the shaft 1A is imparted to the member 8, thereby using the trictional connection between the two members 8 and 5 and decreasing the possibility ol slippage and the frictional heat generated thereby betere the ygripping action is secured between the two members and the same or substantially the same speed ot rotation is secured. The attached member 10 may control any machine or apparatus desired to be operated at will, and tor the purpose, l have shown the member 10 in the term oi a pulley, around which may operate the belt or similar operating` medium 16. y

l will now describe the means employed for operating the clutch at will. its above .described the arm 14: is formed with the collar 18 loosely mounted on shaft 1. lt will be obvious that when the arm ll i pulled down The collar 7,

wardly the opening 17 ot the collar 13 allows the collar 13 to roclr about the shaft 1 as a lulcrum and bear against the ball-bearing collar 12, the movement of which is limited by the cellar 19 secured to the shaft, and also against the ball-bearing collar 11, thereby forcing the collar 11, hub sleeve 9 and member 8 ot the attached member l10 to the right, thus securing the frictional engagement be tween the member 8 and the rotating member 5. To actuate the lever or arm 14 Jforming part ot the collar 13 any desired means may be employed. F or illustrative purposes, l have shown what may be termed a foot pedal control, which pedal is indicated at 2O and is mounted on fulcrum brackets '21, which pedal is connected in any suitable way to the arm 141-, for example by a rod 22, pivotally connected to the pedal 20 and the arm 111;, as shown. lt is desirable in devices ol this nature to insure disengagement of the liriction clutch members automatically. Any suitable means may be employed for this purpose and l show a spring 23 located beneath the loot pedal, which spring, when pressure on the pedal 2O is removed, forces the pedal upwardly lo its normal position and thereby through rod connection 22, causes the arm 1li; and its collar 13 to assume its normal position between the ball-bearing collars 11 and 12 as shown, thereby releasing the pressure on collar 11 and allowing the clutch member 5 to `lorce the clutch member 8 out oit' Contact therewith. It desired, and as an alternative constructiomthe end oit the arm .lil may be secured to the sleeve 24 of shalt 1 by means of a spring 25a, which will restore thc arm 111 to its normal position when the pressure thereon is removed. The spring may be employed either separately or in addition to the spring 28 hereinbelore described. l

lt will be observed that when the friction member 8 is forced towards the cooperating member 5', the latter is slightly displaced along the shalt 1 and away lrom the stop collar 7, against the compression tension of spring 6. The thrust ot this movement of the members 5, 8, is taken at one side by the collar el, and at the other side by collar 19, the thrusts on these collars being equal' and in opposite directions. The result is that the shalt 1 is entirely relieved of end thrust, in either direction. lhen the thrust 0l mem.- ber 8 towards member 5 is released the com pressi ve tension ot spring 6 restores the member 5 to position against stop collar 7, and thereby restores the member 8 to its normal retracteil idle position.

lt is also frequently desirable to brake the member 8 immediately on disconnection with the rotating member 5, to bring. the member 10 to rest, and to automatically operate the brake immediately upon disconnecting the friction members 5 and 8. l show one simple means for accomplishingthis, which means is controlled by the operation of the mem ber 14, so that when the member 14z is in its normal position, as indicated in ifig. 1 the brake is in place and bearing against the member 8. I accomplish this by securing to the arm 1d an angle rod 25, which angle rod has an actual axial rotative bearing in the casing 26, and has secured at the end thereof, a brake 27, which brake is turned into and out of engagement with the member 8, according to the actual axial movement of the angle rod 25, as will be clearly under stood. It will be noticed on reference to Fig. 3 that the rod 25 is offset relative to the longitudinal center of the assembly so that with its parallel arms shown in Fig. 5 connected one to the operating arm 14 and the other supportingT the brake 27, the brake 27 is moved into or out of engagement with the member 8 when the arm 14 is rocked about its pivotal support on the shaft 1. Thus, when the arm 14 is in its normal position, the brake 27 is in engagement with the member 8, and when the arm 14- is depressed, to thereby make frictional engagement between the clutch members, the rod 25 is axially rotated thereby, withdrawing the brake 27 from the member 8 to allow the free rotation thereof. The casing 26 forms a dirt and dust-proof casing for the moving parts, and in addition renders the clutch device safe in operation by completely enclosing all moving parts thereof.

lVhile I have shown and described a specific structure embodying theprinciples of my invention, I wish it to be understood that my invention is not to be limited or restricted to the specific details of construction thereof as many changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. without de` parting from the spirit or scope of my in vention, as defined in the claims.

Therefore, having set forth the object and nature of my invention, what I cl aim as new and useful, and of my own invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a friction drive mechanism, a power driven shaft, a collar carried by said shaft to rotate therewith, a member loosely mounted on said shaft, a spring coil surrounding said shaft and connected at one end to said collar and at the other end to said member, to exert both its compression and its torsional tensions upon said member, a stop on said shaft to limit theV movement of said member under the influence of the compression tension of said coil, a cooperating member mounted on said shaft, means to move said cooperating member into frictional engagement with said first mentioned member, and driving means actuated by said cooperating friction member.

2. A clutch device comprising a rotary shaft, a clutch member flexibly mounted. on

saidshaft, and secured thereto through the medium of a spring coiled loosely about the shaft, and having one end secured thereto, a co-operating auxiliary clutchmember freely mounted on said shaft, means on said shaft for exerting an end thrust upon said auxil" iary clutch member to force the same into yielding frictional engagement with said first mentioned clutch member, a power transmitting device carried by said co-operating auxiliary clutch member, and secured thereto, and means for controlling the motion of said auxiliary clutch member.

3. In a friction drive mechanism, a power driven shaft, a collar carried by said shaft to rotate therewith, a member loosely mounted on said shaft, a spring coil surrounding said shaft and connected at one end to said collar and at the other end to said member, to exert both its compression and its torsional tensions upon said member, a cooperating member mounted on said shaft, a second collar fixed on said shaft, said members disposed between said collars,

vmeans to shift said cooperating member into surface frictional engagement with said first mentioned member, the thrust of said means being taken in opposite directions by said collars, and driving means actuated by said y cooperating friction member.

Li. In a friction drive mechanism, a power driven shaft, a collar carried by said shaft to rotate therewith, a member loosely mounted on said shaft, a spring coil surrounding said shaft and connected at one end to said collar and at the other end to said member, to exert both its compression and its torsional tensions upon said member, a cooperating member mounted on said shaft, a second collar fixed on said shaft, said members disposed between said collars,l a lever suspended upon said shaft for rocking movement in the direction of the length of the shaft, and interposed between said second collar and said cooperating member, and adapted, when actuated, to shift said cooperating member into surface frictional engagement with said first mentioned member, the thrust of said lever being imposed in opposite directions upon said collars, and driving means actuated by said-cooperating friction member.

5. In a friction drive mechanism, a power driven shaft, a collar carried by said shaft to rotate therewith, a member loosely mounted on said shaft, a spring coil sur rounding said shaft and connected at one end to said collar and at the other end to said member, to exert both its compression and its torsional tensions upon said member, a cooperating member mounted on said shaft, a second collar fixed on said shaft, said members disposed between said collars, a lever suspended upon said shaft for rocking movement in the direction of the length of the shaft, bearing members disposed at first mentioned member, and driving means opposite sides of said lever, one of said bearactuated by said cooperating friction meming members being resisted by said second ber. l0 col-lar, and the other connected to said co- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set operating member, whereby when said lever mv hand on this 30th day of March, A. D.,

is rocked said cooperating member is shifted 1917. into surface frictional engagement With said WILLIAM L. PIERCE. 

